Canterbury launch new England 7s kits

Launched by members of the England Men’s and Women’s teams, the shirts will be worn for the first time at the Marriott London Sevens, the last tournament of the 2012-13 IRB HSBC Sevens World Series taking place at Twickenham in May.

Both shirts have been created with the English rose at the heart of the design using a pixelated image of the iconic rugby emblem to represent the DNA of the rose. The home shirt has a more classic look to suit fans that are keen to get their hands on a traditional shirt. The alternate shirt offers fans a livelier look to match the entertaining atmosphere at the sevens. Positioned in triangular shapes, the colours of the rose blend together to demonstrate the fluidity and speed involved in the game.

To mark the unveiling of the new shirts, and to recognise the very different design styles, Canterbury has launched its ‘Home or Away’ campaign, which asks fans to pledge their allegiance to the home or alternate shirt by voting on www.canterbury.com/England or tweeting their preference with #HomeorAway to @canterburyNZ.

Canterbury will also be unleashing seven ‘Home or Away’ taxis, which will be wrapped in the design of the shirts on the capital. Rugby fans are challenged to spot the taxis, take a photo and send to Canterbury via Twitter or Instagram tagged with #HomeorAway or email to homeoraway@canterbury.com. All photos received will automatically win a prize, from money off vouchers to a new England Sevens shirt to tickets to the Marriott London Sevens.

To celebrate the launch of the shirts Canterbury has also released new Lego videos depicting a race through London between Team Home and Team Away to make it to Twickenham for the England Sevens photo call. The Team Home video can be viewed at http://youtu.be/SMnG1Awg1BE and the Team Away video can be seen http://youtu.be/4m91urzgj_Q.

The home and alternate shirts will be available in the ever-popular ‘Pro’ replica jerseys and the team version, available for pre-order on 11th April and go on general sale on the 25th April, retailing at £55 each on www.canterbury.com and www.rfudirect.com.

What do you make of the new shirts? Edgy and modern or bizarre and over the top? Have your say below.